Santa Monica, 1% vs. Los Angeles, 4%

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Of course, I’m talking about Santa Monica’s newly adopted rent increase of 1 percent (effective September 2009 through August 2010) for their rent-controlled units, compared to the 4 percent increase the city of Los Angeles will allow in our rent-stabilized units (effective July 2009 through June 2010).  Santa Monica’s Rent Control Board approved the relatively small increase last week in consideration of the hard times that currently afflict even the bourgie classes of renters in that city.  To say the least, it’s thought-provoking to see the contrast between the two cities’ rent policies… to think that those of us lucky enough to live in rent-stabilized units in LA could see our rents go up 4 percent after July 1—even while housing market rates actually drop in the face of rising unemployment.  

 

How the hell can that be, you ask?

 

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Boredom is…

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On my daily commute to work I spotted this on N. Broadway.  Now this side of town is not without plenty of graffiti/bombs/tags but this meanders into other territory.  It’s not just a ‘tag’ but in a way someone trying to engage us and express his “boredom” with an act of creativity! Of course bored is spelled as borred, which makes one wonder as to whether this was intentional or not. And even the last “D” looks like a “b,” further changing an interpretation of this piece.

But frankly, on a purely visceral level I love this. Reminds me of all those million punk songs that sing about being young and bored. Even Søren Kierkegaard, Dutch 19th century existentialist, wrote about the nature of Boredom. For example he said in Either/Or,

Since boredom advances and boredom is the root of all evil, no wonder, then, that the world goes backwards, that evil spreads. This can be traced back to the very beginning of the world. The gods were bored; therefore they created human beings.

And also:

Boredom rests upon the nothingness that winds its way through existence

So, whoever did this is in good company in being bored…but as the Internationale Situationiste also said:

Boredom is counterrevolutionary.

OH! Who would’ve thought being bored had such existential implications!

A Saturday Afternoon with Razorcake

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Razorcake Magazine

You like punk rock, right? Then you must know about Northeast LA’s very own Razorcake magazine! It’s one of the finest music publications in existence…Of course, you know! Well, it’s kinda of last minute of me to announce this but Razorcake editor Todd Taylor will be talking about the history and the DIY philosophy of punk rock today. And this talk is conveniently located in Highland Park. You can take the 81 or 83 bus! I know y’all don’t mind the late notice cause you punk rockers live for the day!

Todd Taylor reading
Sat, June 20, 2009
4pm
Arroyo Seco Library
6145 N Figueroa St
Los Angeles, CA 90042-3593
(323) 255-0537

How It Begins: Renaming a Neighborhood

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I don’t get it. Why do newcomers feel a need to come up with new names for their neighborhoods? Is this one of those customs of the middle-class species? Or is it just someone trying to make a buck?

Check out this paper I recently picked up over in the Fairfax District and their attempts to rename the area as SOHO aka South Hollywood. First, that name is pretty fucking stupid: it continues this needless fascination with New York for cultural guidance. (WWMAD?) Plus it’s the tired moniker of choice for every fake ass “creative” neighborhood, and yes, that includes you NOHO.

Lucky for us, this paper actually has a long-winded “story” about how they came up with this new uninspired name for the Fairfax area. The website they link doesn’t have that info, but click ahead to see why they feel at ease taking an eraser to some of the common names for this area.

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Fin De Semana: Sat June 20, 2009

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Please join us as LoveGalo & Jun-Keez proudly present:

FIN DE SEMANA
Art exhibit & photographic journal of an FDS Collaborative Piece Production

Featured artists
Envy, Krys, Kween, Opia,
Perl, Secret, Suny, Swoe, Yikes

Photography
Eriberto Oriol

Music/Live Performance
DJ 215 aka Charles X
The Leeches (7PM)

When
Saturday – June 20th, 2009
5PM – 9PM

Where
Jun-Keez
3908 Tweedy Boulevard
South Gate, CA 90280

Info
(323) 569-4020

And from East of the River…


East L.A – Lakers Celebration 2009 by Eriksarni.com

In case you missed it in the comments section, LA Eastside compadre Erik Sarni captured the joyous and peaceful Lakers victory celebration on Whittier Blvd in East LA last night. Looked like fun, that is until the cops kicked everyone off the street.

I have a suggestion for the City of Los Angeles, instead of spending a million dollars to put on a Lakers victory parade just ask the good folks in East LA to help out. They managed to have an impromptu parade and did it for free, DIY style. They’re good at catching serial killers too!

Lakers Celebration in LH

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I drove by to quickly check out the scene but as of around 8:40 pm, the streets of Lincoln Heights were pretty calm, at least compared to the crazy partying that happened when the Lakers won that other time. But there were still a few people walking around, just wanting to celebrate a win of their favorite sports team. It seems people are gathering in East Los and some fools are trying to burn living trees over by the Staples center, but for now LH is just a few cars cruising, honking, celebrating.

Click ahead for a few more pics.

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The Famous Tortilla Wars

I don’t think Smokin’ Mirrors Productions and Pocho Hour of Power will not mind if I share one of their films with the LAEastside readers. Maybe it’s because I know all the locations or the players, or because I like Zul’s writing that I find this hilarious each time I see it. I’ll check it out again in 30 years to see if it stays “classic.” See if you can find LAeastside.com blogger Pachuco 3000 making a cameo in this—LOL!

URL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EzFPkMweyw